Blair Jenkins Calls For New Independent Press Regulator With More Powers

06/02/2012 06:49

PA

A former BBC executive has called for the creation of a new independent press regulator with more substantial powers to investigate unethical behaviour.

The regulator should have the ability to impose "significant sanctions" including financial penalties, Blair Jenkins suggests in his report for the Carnegie Trust UK.

The document, published on Monday, also calls for a new ethical and editorial code for all journalists as the key measure to support and encourage better news media in the digital age.

It said that an industry-wide code would give much clearer guidance and set high standards for journalists in newspapers, broadcasting and online news services.

The report - Better Journalism in the Digital Age - will be forwarded as a formal submission to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards.

The document said that a new regulatory framework for the press is needed, one that is independent of both government and the newspaper industry.

It suggests the system should be voluntary, but with very strong incentives for joining.

A "key incentive" could be press accreditation and recognition, a system which gives journalists privileged access to important venues, events and people.

Only news outlets participating in the regulatory framework would obtain the benefits of press accreditation.

The report said: "A new regulator can effectively guarantee adherence to a more substantial and ambitious editorial code, with penalties for breaches.

"It seems clear that this new regulator will also need stronger powers of investigation and the right to impose a wider range of sanctions on offenders, including financial penalties on those very rare occasions when these are appropriate.

"It is important the new regulator has teeth: the issue is how fiercely and frequently we wish it to bite."

However the new regulator would not have statutory powers.

Other recommendations include the maintenance or strengthening of public service broadcasting to ensure that not all news ventures are commercially driven, and a renewed emphasis on professional ethics in journalism education and training.

Jenkins is a former head of news and current affairs at both BBC Scotland and STV, chair of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission, and now a Carnegie Fellow.

He said: "Journalism is based on trust and integrity and that needs to be reflected in a new industry-wide code of conduct. It should be inspiring and authentic for all journalists, but also sufficiently clear and reassuring for the public who depend upon those journalists for reliable news and information.

"The independent regulatory system proposed for the press would strike a new balance. You only get the many benefits of being a serious news operation if you also live up to the obligations.

"If you want the accreditation that gets you special access to the big stories, you have to sign up to decent and reasonable standards."

The report also recommends that civil society organisations offer help to fund new initiatives to ensure greater quality and diversity of news sources.

It calls for the extension of the availability and take-up of high-speed broadband to enable universal access to a wide range of digital news and suggests that industry regulators, universities, civil society organisations and the news media should encourage more public debate around media ethics and behaviour.